Archive for the milestones Category

Today was the big day for the Halloween festivities at CVIS, Maxxi’s school. The kids dressed in costume for the school day, had a morning desfile de disfraz (costume parade), and there was a carnival this evening, complete with bake sale, cake walk, and a super scary haunted house with plenty of gorey zombies and even a chainsaw (we skipped that attraction – Maxxi due to being 3, and us due to the immense waiting line to get in… I was bummed not to experience the horror first hand, but I am more horrified by standing in lines I suppose).

This year Maxxi dressed as Thor, God of Thunder. My dad brought down his awesome costume, and we had given him a sweet nerf Thor’s hammer for his birthday which has since been a favorite toy. Of course, after 2 months of having the hammer around, the night before dress-up day we go out to dinner and come home to find the hammer – the HAMMER! – destroyed by the dog. Gabbi was the one to discover the disaster and when I came down from putting Maxxi to sleep, he was so heartbroken I thought maybe the cat had died. No wait, he was more heartbroken than that. Gabbi got busy making Maxxi the coolest “Capitan Mexico” shield and helmet (converting the previous iteration of Captain America shield & helmet that he made him last week), and I managed to rebuild the hammer using an ipod box and duct tape. Whew – day saved by late-night craftiness. Thor had his hammer, and a super rad Capitan Mexico costume for Friday show-and-tell. Of course this hammer actually packs a punch vs. the nerf version – I was a little worried about sending him to school with an actual weapon, but I didn’t hear any reports of bludgeoning from the teacher (that would be “Miss America,” by the way) so I guess we’re all good.

I made what turned out to be a darn-tootin’ good Jesse (Toy Story) costume that was a big hit with the little ones. Gab went as Green Lantern, Sayulita sector, but Maxxi commandeered his mask and ring mid-way through the night, becoming Green Thor of Asgaard sector.

I also made my first batch of school bake-sale cupcakes: white-as-a-ghost white chocolate mud cupcakes. So yum. I made these for Gabbi’s birthday (white chocolate being his fave) and they are delicious and quite easy. Get the recipe here. All in all, a great start to another halloween with our little king-of-costumes.

Before bedtime, I just had to coax Maxxi into his “Woody” PJs (and boots and hat) for a Woody’s Roundup cast reunion photo.

It’s been a big week for grooming around the Villarrubia house. Gab took Maxxi for a haircut on Saturday, which makes him look so BOY-ish, and ever-yet-still more adorable. Gab had his own hair cut uber-short and is looking uber-hot, and I spent a few hours today with the lovely Kori Walker, who winters in Sayulita and summers in Truckee (she even cuts our bestest friend Jay Heapy’s hair, all the way back there in the heart of the Sierra!). I love my new haircut and color – she managed to take a little length off and give me a “new feeling” look, without losing the long-haired-lady look that I love, and I even let her put a rooster feather in my hair. Yes, a rooster feather. Apparently, they are from happy, humanely farmed California roosters, and only taken from the birds after they have otherwise died from natural causes. Ironic having an imported rooster feather when there are about 50 roosters in a 50-foot radius from my house. mmmm, irony.

Gabbi & I both come from a long line of speed-eaters. We eat fast, our parents eat fast, their parents probably ate fast, and our kid eats fast. So, as part of my “slow down the eating machine” initiative to teach Maxxi a more relaxed attitude when it comes to wolfing down his chow, we take breaks between bites to drop the spork, count to ten, and sing the alphabet song. Maxxi’s gotten pretty good at counting over the past few weeks, and has counted to 4 (in English and Spanish) on his own more than a few times. But today he floored me when, after hearing the song for about a week, he jumped in right on cue with his ABCs. 22 months. My kid amazes me every day.

Maximo took his first glorious, stumbling, Frankenstein (just in time for Halloween) steps this week. This is definitely one of those milestones that gives you (meaning me) pause. He’s been standing and walking along edges for a while now, so we kind of expected it to be any day for some time, but then suddenly he’s doing it, and there you are, it is done. He’s not covering much ground yet before he plops onto his booty, but he is figuring it all out, finding his weight and balance, and discovering this new way of being in and moving through his wondrous world. How exciting for him, finding his legs. How rewarding for us, getting to watch and help him.

At just shy of 14 months, it’s funny how I see my own perspective on milestones changing already. For the first 9 months, I kept a spreadsheet tracking every stage of early development :

month 5, week 2: puts own foot in mouth!

month 8, week 2: cutting 3rd & 4th teeth – upper gums!

Then things start happening so fast, and you’ve been a parent for almost a year and it’s not all brand shining new and you are just living and experiencing it all together, forgetting to record every tiny detail and then suddenly your tiny little baby boy (psst…not so tiny anymore, btw) is W…A…L…KING and oh lord what next?????

As my dear friend and mama-mentor Tamra is so fond of reminding all of us parents, kids develop right on time, right on schedule, and it’s so important to cherish every minute, without rushing or pressuring them onto the next stage. Kids set their perfect pace and find their perfect place in the world, and there is no right or wrong time for them to do this and master that. As parents, it is all flying by so fast that we must slow down and cherish the moments when they still want to nurse, when they still long to snuggle and cuddle and kiss, when they can’t yet run away on two feet or ride their bike without training wheels or surf or swim or whatever. Because one day they can’t and then the next day — they can and they always will. They crawl and they never sit still; they walk and then they run; once learned, they don’t forget how to ride a bike or tie their shoes, it just becomes something they do like so many other things that make them more independent, self-sufficient, grown-up.

So it is with some bittersweet-ness that I reflect on this wonderful and joyous milestone for little Maxxi. I am so thrilled for him and I adore watching him toddle around and figure it all out. And I am cherishing even more those moments when he wants nothing more than to be in his mama’s arms, at my breast, or just by my side. Because it’s all fleeting and precious, and he is the best gift, each and every day.